Yup, another pumpkin recipe. I know, I really should be concentrating on holiday cookies now, but as I woke the other morning to a blanket of white snow covering the yard and roof tops, i decided I just wasn’t ready. Determined to cheer up that gray gloomy day, I spotted the silicone muffin tray in the sink. I used it a couple of days earlier to make individual blondies, and I have a habit of not putting things away. Or as my husband calls it, a talent for covering every single surface/table in the house.

Mother nature seemed determined to get her way seeing as it started snowing again while I was baking. That didn’t stop me though. I just made myself a coffee and baked a second batch of muffins, determined to get the filling to stay inside the muffins this time, as opposed to a blob on top. They were cute in their own way I guess, with white tops, much like the bushes in the yard. The second batch was a success, using a spoon to make a well and topping the filling with more batter. The only disadvantage was not being able to use the same bowl as the pumpking batter to whip up the filling. So this is no longer a one-bowl recipe, oh well, you win some – you lose some. I consoled myself with muffins…

You could make these in a standard muffin tin with paper liners if you so choose, but I hadn’t baked in silicone in years so I decided to give it another go. Turns out it was better than I remembered, don’t you love it when that happens? Although, in retrospect, mini-cherry pies shouldn’t have been made in a silicone muffin pan. You end up breaking the crust trying to un-mold them. I topped these off with pumpkin seed for some texture and to make them a little prettier, they looked a little plain on their own. You could swap the pumpkin seeds for mini chocolate chips, but if you go that route, you may want to through some in the batter as well, you know, for good measure.

The recipe makes 6, because that’s the size of my silicone muffin tray, but you could easily double the recipe to make a full dozen. 6 seems to work well for our household of two, they don’t go stale before they’re all consumed. Plus I’ve been on a bit of a muffin kick lately, so I’d rather have batches of 6 than 12…

Pumpkin Muffins with Cream Cheese Filling

Makes 6 muffins

Muffin batter:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons ground ginger

1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk, or other non-dairy milk

1/3 cup canola oil, or melted coconut oil

3/4 cup pumpkin puree

2 tablespoons molasses

Cream Cheese Filling:

4 ounces / 1/2 cup non-hydrogenated vegan cream cheese

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Pumpkin seeds (optional)

Preheat the oven to 400°F, line a 6 cup muffin pan with paper liners (if using a silicone pan, lightly grease).

In a large mixing bowl whisk together the pumpking puree, almond milk, oil, sugar, and molasses until smooth.

Add the flour, baking powder, basking soda, salt and spices to the pumpking mixture. Stir until combined and no lumps of flour remain, being careful not to over mix the batter.

In a small bowl blend together the vegan cream cheese and sugar until smooth.

Add a scoop of pumpkin batter to each muffin cavity and use the back of a spoon to work the batter up the sides of the cavity creating a well in the center. Divide the cream cheese filling evenly among the wells created in the center of the pumpkin batter. Top with the remaining batter making sure the cream cheese filling is completely inclosed and no longer visible.

Sprinkle the tops of each muffin with pumpkin seeds if using.

Bake for 20-22 minutes until lightly golden and a tooth pick comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for 5 minutes before un-molding.

Muffins can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days at room temperature.